Jack Layton

To say that I've ever agreed with Jack Layton's policies would be untrue. If I were a Canadian, I'd undoubtedly vote for the Conservative Party. But I do respect the late leader of the NDP; he was undoubtedly one of the better politicians in the western world. Layton became the party's leader in 2003, at a time when it had a mere 13 seats in Parliament, thus making it the 4th largest party by quite some way (the third largest, the Bloc Québécois, had 25 more seats).

Under Layton, this grew to 19 seats in 2004, then to 29 seats in 2006, then to 37 seats in 2008. The 2011 election seemed to greatly upset the status quo. Though the Conservatives won, the NDP surged to attain 103 seats, their highest electoral result ever, thus entering the role of opposition for the first time ever. In the same election, the Greens attained their first ever Parliamentary seat, and the Bloc Québécois were almost wiped out, going from 47 to 4 seats.

The key to Layton's success seems to be more than just the luck and political savvy that every politician needs to be a success. The 2011 campaign was bold and, ultimately, a well-deserved success for the NDP. Layton stated boldly his ambitions for Canada - to become Prime Minister. Layton argued passionately that his party had the best economic and social policies. The NDP confroted the Bloc Québécois in their stronghold and won; indeed, many NDP gains came from Quebec. Layton's charisma and sound policies (even those of us who disagree with them must admit they are indeed sound) were not alone in turning him into the Leader of the Opposition this year; it was also down to his radical new approach to the electoral process.

It remains to be seen whether or not the NP can continue the electoral success started by Layton. A letter written by Layton a mere two days before his death is full of optimism, but it remains to be see whether a new full-time leader - Layton's letter gives the impression this will take place in the new year - can continue the wave of optimism and electoral success ushered in by Layton.

Today, it was announced that Layton would be honoured with a rare state funeral. It is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man in Canadian politics.

London Riots

I've contemplated posting about this for a while. Though the entire subject is a little dull for me - rioting is just a tragic reminder that there are still morons in the world - I feel compelled nevertheless to provide my personal view on the matter. Seeing as I have no connections to anyone affected, I feel I can speak with greater calm than those feeling vengeful, upset, or whatever else the aftermath of a riot feels like.

The left is, in this instance, wrong. People like Polly Toynbee and other sickening, patronising bullshitters who harp on about poverty, circumstances and other lofty ideals are only deluding themselves. They need to wake up to a few fundamental realities: except in a communist or socialist idyll (ie, a quixotic fantasy) can wealth be totally equal. Thus, some people will always be poorer, and others richer. It also follows that, were the poor wealthier, then the rich would be too, meaning that the goods, living conditions and societal status they would aspire to would be still more extravagent and advance than those of today. In such a circumstance, people at the bottom, or near it, would still feel trodden down upon and thus the need to steal would remain. It's been a constant of humanity ever since they first huddled together around the Euphrates in Mesapotamia of old to form Uruk, the first true settlement. By this logic, the Labour arguments of giving the rioters and their class things so as to remove the incentive to steal is flawed.

Plato quite rightly pointed out that bad men will always find ways round any laws, and good ones uphold their virtues (apart from little incidents of reneging, eg when sex is involved) in spite of any laws that may be in place. Plenty of the poorer people in London did not riot. Some who did not need to riot, from a financial and societal viewpoint, did. The root of these riots are not political, either. Once again, those who make this claim are living in an idealised fantasy where poverty is the sole cause of moral depravity.

The cause is culture and idiocy. Our culture caters too readily to idiots and encourages them to be as moronic and scummy as their inherent nature makes them. Rather than cure them with good literature, quality press and good education - the state must do more, and Gove is, for the latter -, they are left to wallow in reality television, the tabloid press, inane sports and gossip magazines. It affects their psyche and behaviour, and leads to a watering down of nationwide culture.

As for the solution, I am not so bothered so long as the punishments: punish only the individual, but punish to the extent of being a deterrent to others - ie, punish them more than usual. Breaking the law is one thing. Breaking the law in an organised and overtly destructive way is excessive, crass and opportunistic. These people must be punished in line with their actions, and some. Or their successors will never learn to behave like men, and will continue to writhe around in the dirt like animals.

General Younes & Rebel Divisions

Late last month, the rebel military leader - General Younes - died at the hands of an assassin in Benghazi, believed to be of a rival tribe or internal faction of the Transitional National Council. The fact is, this latest killing is important in highlighting just how flawed, divided and, despite their best efforts to mask it, tribally influenced this so called 'revolution' (a word carrying strong implications that it brings liberation) really is.

General Younes' power struggle with Khalifa Haftar in March and April was symbolic of the divisions within the TNC. The rebels admit that the assassination was carried out by one of their own, though they're unsure quite who it was. Younes was suspected of having links to Qaddafi and was generally distrusted by the rebels - he'd been a friend and close ally for over four decades, after all.

Mr Jalil has since sacked his entire cabinet over the incident. This shows as much division among the rebels as the defections by Qaddafi ministers earlier this year. Of course, the media downplayed this - heck, it received less news coverage than rumours of Oil Minister Ghanem's defection (which turned out to be false).

As Ramadan and the Libyan Civil War drags on, there is still hope that the people will tire of the demagogue that is Mustafa Abdul Jalil and his fraudulent, cowardly council.

US credit rating

The old US of A has lost its AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's over concerns about the budget deficit. It looks like Mr Boehner has a reason to cry now; it was his party, after all, that spent the US into the red in the first place, that made a big political fiasco out of the self-imposed August 2nd deadline, and then refused to co-operate, thanks largely to the lunatic Tea Party faction.

Already the idiotic Tea Partiers, hell bent on seeing their atavistic and quixotic idyll of what it means to be American implemented, have seen the first effects of their unrelenting Representatives and moronic domestic policy ideas. Cue market panic.

Melanie Phillips & 2083

The news that Andres Behring Breivik included extensive quotations from Melanie Phillips in his 2083: A Manifesto, the lunatic document in which he 'justifies' the atrocious killings of 69 people during a shooting spree on Utoya island and a further 8 when he set off a car bomb in central Oslo, is no surprise.

Mad Mel, as she's known to straight thinking people, decided to try and blame this on the left wing and attack various other aspects of our culture. I personally cannot see why she has responded in this way. A woman who spends her time warning of the dangers of a Muslim takeover of London - whilst also accusing everyone that criticises Israel of "anti-Semitism" - shouldn't really be surprised that her writing has fuelled hatred against Muslims and minorities (because that's exactly what she intends to do), and then respond with the usual baseless hysteria, rather than actually admitting the fact that she's a racist fuck. I think that the anti-suffrage people in the early 20th century who argued that women were too irrational to vote could've cited Melanie Phillips, had she been around at the time, and their argument would've been so convincing that women probably wouldn't have the vote today.

Anyone who actually reads the Mail, especially Phillips' work, is a braindead, racist, scumbag piece of shit. Fact.

Barack Obama Crumbles

It's a shame to see how this US debt saga ended: Republican victory, aka the worst possible thing for the country at this moment. In the US political arena, I often see the Democrats act as a check and balance to the insane Republicans, who've only become less mentally stable over the past years with the emergence of the Tea Party.

The debt deal that's been agreed sees the spending cuts demanded by the Republican Party as a whole, the spending cap that was a key demand of the Tea Party. But the Democrats demand of increased taxes, so as to raise more revenues, was not a part of this deal. Medicare and social security seem safe for the time being - they've been ringfenced, I hear - and the raising of the debt ceiling might give Obama some time to negotiate some tax rises, which would doubtless help in alleviating the US' trillions of dollars of sovereign debt.

This looks like another blow to Mr Obama, and seems to me another example of the President's inability to back up his fine rhetoric. A part of me even wishes that Mr Obama loses the 2012 election, so that the Republicans can get into office during this difficult period - be it Romney or Bachmann -, just to ruin the Republican brand name and get a new Democrat with a little more experience into office.